Bound Together
by TrueWriter1997
Summary: We all know at the end of the Harry Potter series that Harry and Hermione end up with their Weasley Partners, but what if something else happened during the hunt for Horcruxes? What if Harry and Hermione were put together due to a different kind of force? A force that is beyond any magic or willpower? Set Post-Wizarding War, a short time after the Deathly Hallows. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Prologue:**

It wasn't until later on that evening that the realisation really kicked in. Ron was gone. Walked out without a second glance. Neither of them thought he was going to come back, and Hermione had taken it very hard. She had spent the rest of the evening crying. There was nothing she could do to take the tears away. He had only been gone a few hours and she already missed him. _Why did he have to leave? Why did he have to leave ME?_ She got up from her bed, turned the radio on and sat on steps that lead up to the picnic table, hugging her knees. She stayed there for a while, listening to the radio, hoping that she could find out if he was OK.

Harry wasn't fairing much better. Although he knew that the argument between him and Ron was one of the worst they've had, and a lot of things shouldn't have been said, at the end of the day he was his best friend. He sat outside the tent, watching the world around him, wondering if Ron had just gone off to cool down somewhere and that he'd probably come back in a minute. But he didn't. His thoughts ran to Hermione. He could tell that this whole situation was really hurting her. He knew that her and Ron had a connection, he knew that there was more than just friendship there, but he hadn't actually realised the extent of it until he walked out just mere hours ago. She was heartbroken. He felt guilty for putting her through this, he didn't want to wish this on anyone, not just with Ron but the whole situation itself. He knew that it was going to be difficult, but he didn't expect it to be this hard. He needed to _do_ something. To cheer her up. Even if it was for a short time, but how to do it?

Suddenly, he heard something on the radio that he hadn't heard in a long time. It was a song. _Music._ How long had it been since he heard some music? He must've been on the run now for about 4-5 months and in that time he had never heard any music. The melody flowed through his ears and he forgot how much he loved it. In an instance he felt a lot calmer, more content. He got up from his seat in front of the fire and headed inside.

He stood in the entrance for a while, looking at her. Hermione didn't even acknowledge him, even though she had definitely heard him come in. Harry could feel himself freeze. He wasn't sure what to do. He'd never been in this situation before. He slowly moved across the room and sat in a chair at the opposite side of the room for a while. He still stared at her, looking for some kind of response. She didn't look at him, just sat there with her head down. The tension in the air was growing. _What should I do?_ Harry thought to himself. _She just needs a friend._

He goes to get up for a brief second but stops himself. _What am I supposed to do?_

As if acting on instinct, he slowly walks up to her and stands in front of her. This time she notices him and looks up at him with deep brown eyes. Harry goes to say something but instead holds out his hand to her. Hermione looks at him curiously, and he nods his head in encouragement. She sighs and takes his hand, allowing him to help her up. He takes her other hand in his and starts to gently guide her to the middle of the room. They never drop each other's gaze. They stare at each other intently, brown eyes meeting green, wondering what the other is going to do next. Harry looks down for a moment and sees the shine of the locket that Hermione currently wears on her neck. _So that's why,_ he thinks. Without leaving her gaze, he gently puts his hands around her neck and releases the locket's clasp, before throwing it onto a nearby bed.

They just stared at each other for a while, and this is when Harry really starts to see the pain in Hermione's eyes, and his as well. Everything that they've been through these past few months, every emotion that they felt in that time, everything that happened at Hogwarts up until now was reflected back at him. It just showed him how much they had been through… _together._ Without realising he was doing it, Harry began to move his arms, as well as Hermione's, back and forth on the spot, as if he was trying to dance.

Hermione shot him another curious look. _What are you doing, Harry?_ But she couldn't help but sway along with him. It was then that she realised that he was trying to cheer her up, and not to mention he did look rather funny with his dancing. She looked into his eyes again and realised that he was smiling and she couldn't help but smile too. Before she knew it, the two of them were swaying on the spot, spinning each other around, laughing, dancing, having fun… It was the most she'd smiled in the whole 4 months. Neither of them were good dancers, but she didn't care. She was just happy that Harry was there with her, making her laugh, despite the fact that they were in a tent, in the middle of nowhere, without any idea what was going to happen or what they were going to do next. She just didn't care.

As the song came to a close, Harry pulled her close. They stood in the same spot, gently swaying to the last of the music. It was at that point, while they were swaying, something spurred inside them both. A sudden warmth coursed through their veins. Their hands tingled as they touched and almost by instinct they held them tighter. The warmth spread through their entire body, as if taking over their humanity. There was just the two of them, in a comfortable embrace, swaying on the spot, and nothing else seemed to matter anymore. Not the hunt for Horcruxes, not the fact that Ron was gone, not even the fact that they could be ambushed by snatchers. It was just them. Together.

They pulled apart and stared at each other for about thirty seconds. They could see the emotion they felt in each other's eyes. They could feel the same emotions in each other. Images formed in their minds: The Tri-wizard Tournament, the Prophecy from the Ministry of Magic, Hermione's Time-Turner, the Astronomy Tower. Sounds of laughter, crying, talking flashed in their minds. Everything that they had been through together was in front of them, and they could feel a sense of longing, almost like a need to stay together. It was like their feelings had connected, became in-sync with each other. They could feel every emotion that the other had felt in the last six years and it rushed through them as quick as it had come. By the time the tension died down, Hermione simply smiled at Harry and walked off to her bunk, leaving Harry standing there, wondering what on earth had just happened…


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning

It has been two years since the second Wizarding War and now a nineteen year old Harry has finally found peace at last. He hasn't felt his scar burn at all, and there's a newfound relief that he won't ever have to worry about it again.

He has also re-kindled his relationship with Ginny, and they've been together for about a year and a half now and he's never felt happier. He's finally got the girl he always wanted and they're hoping that they can move in together in the next year or so, but in the meantime he spends most of his time at The Burrow, along with Ron and Hermione.

Ron and Hermione have also started a relationship, but they have been going slightly longer than Harry and Ginny have, as they got together pretty much as soon as the War ended. Molly Weasley, Ron's mum, had absolutely no issue with accepting Hermione and Harry into the family. 'It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who is responsible for keeping my children in check,' she had said, when they first told her about their respective relationships.

Harry's friendship with Hermione and Ron hadn't changed at all despite the scars from the war. He still had Hermione to look out for him as she always did, and Ron was always there to keep the peace with his humour and laid-back attitude. It was nice for them to finally be themselves again, just three best friends who are able to hang out together without feeling awkward. They'd mainly talk about Old Times at Hogwarts, like a certain student who was a bit strange or a weird experience that they had had one time. They even still talk about when they were on a hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes, reflecting on what happened. It helped them to get through the scars the war imposed on them, making sure that they could get it off their chest whenever they felt that they needed to.

'I can't believe we really did that,' Ron said, chuckling, 'The things we went through in order to get all those Horcruxes… What were we thinking?'

'Yes, it does seem a little bit mad, doesn't it?' Hermione agreed.

'It doesn't matter now, what's done is done,' Harry said, smiling to himself.

'Which reminds me… I never actually asked what happened while I left,' Ron slowly says. 'What did happen?'

Harry and Hermione looked at each other nervously. _What were they going to say?_ A lot of things had happened in the time that Ron left. Where would they start? It would probably be best if they left out the dance… that wouldn't be very wise considering that Ron was now with Hermione. The last thing Harry wanted was to cause tension between the three of them yet again. They'd had enough of that for a lifetime.

The strange thing was that since the dance, something had changed between Harry and Hermione… It wasn't just a matter of looking at each other's facial expressions and body language to understand how the other was feeling. They just knew.

One time, they were sitting eating dinner with the rest of the Weasleys in the Burrow not long after the war, when the family were still grieving over Fred, who was killed during the battle. They had brought up the subject of Godric's Hollow for some reason and bare in mind that Harry was sitting on the complete opposite end of the table to where Hermione was, but he felt something. He felt a twinge of panic in his body that definitely was not coming from him. In fact, he didn't feel panicky at all. He felt a little bit upset because it was a sensitive subject, but it wasn't any reason to panic from it. It was like the feeling of panic was coming from someone else. It wasn't until Hermione had said 'Harry?' from the other side of the table to realise that he had been staring down at his food blankly for about 10 minutes. He looked up and realised that Hermione was the only one who was paying attention to him, as the rest of the Weasleys were all engrossed in a different topics. Harry had smiled reassuringly and they went back to their conversations.

Oddly enough, whenever it was Harry who was feeling upset or angry, it was always Hermione who was by his side in an instant, even if he had been completely on his own. She was always able to sense whether something was going on and rushed to check if he was OK before any words were said. It was always the same with Hermione as well. Whenever she was upset or angry, regardless whether or not she was in the room, he always got this little feeling in the back of his mind that said something was wrong. Like a shiver running down his body, or an unconscious need to be with her just to make sure she was alright. It was the same with positive feelings too. Whenever she was happy or relaxed, he would feel a warmth that would quickly spread through his body and disappear in a matter of seconds. This sensation would happen for a much longer period of time if he was in close proximity with her.

It's strange… sometimes he wonders whether Hermione experiences the same thing, although they've never talked about it. He's had urges to ask her for a long time but he doesn't want to jeopardise their respective relationships, not to mention he hasn't really had the chance to get her alone to even bring up the subject, as she's always with Ron.

Its Hermione's quick thinking that snaps him out of his musings. 'We went to Godric's Hollow, which was the place that Harry's parents died.' Almost immediately she looked over to him, and a shiver went down his body. He nodded his head to allow her to carry on. 'And we met Bathilda Bagshot, the one who wrote—'

'No way… you met Bathilda Bagshot? I thought she's been dead for years!' Ron said, completely fascinated.

'Well it wasn't really Bathilda, just Voldemort's snake disguised as one. Anyway, she attacked Harry and then…' She stopped, and looked at Harry, who was by now feeling very insecure. A small prickle of fear entered her body and lingered there for a long time, but she didn't feel scared in herself. Something was telling her that she shouldn't continue.

'Well… what happened?' Ron said eagerly, his eyes fixed on Hermione.

'Nothing. We got away.' Harry finished, before he stood up and left to go inside the house. Hermione just stared after him, fighting her urges to follow him.

'Is Harry OK?' Ron asked Hermione.

Hermione took Ron's hand. 'I'm sure he'll be fine', she says, even though she highly doubts this.

They sit there for a while, watching the world go by in the backyard of the Burrow. Hermione couldn't help but worry about Harry. There was just something in her subconscious that kept telling her to go find him. Even though she was content with sitting out here with Ron and she knew that Harry was going to be fine, she can't help but have the almost overwhelming urge to be with Harry. She couldn't understand why she felt so worried for him all the time. She worried about him anyway, but it wasn't to this extent. She could feel the sadness in her body, but she wasn't sad herself and neither was Ron so it must be coming from Harry himself. _But_ _why? Why was she feeling like this?_ It didn't make sense. She tried so hard to ignore it but it felt as if there was an invisible string tugging at her to leave Ron and go to find Harry. At first she was able to ignore it because she didn't really get involved much with Harry after the war but since he is now with Ginny and she is with Ron, they've been spending more and more time together and the feelings have gotten stronger. This time they're almost impossible to ignore. She can't understand why but sometimes it feels like being with Ron was a mistake, despite the fact that she knows she loves him.

It isn't long before she can't stand it any longer. She says to Ron 'I'm sorry, but I'll be right back,' before kissing him on the cheek and then goes to find Harry.

Harry was laying on his bed in his room, staring up at the ceiling. He was contemplating every feeling he's felt these last two years, trying to make sense of it all. Yeah he loved Ginny, but he constantly felt this attraction towards Hermione, ever since that dance 2 years ago. He could feel what she was feeling, he could tell without having to look at her or even be in the same room or place as her. He can feel her emotions inside him. But why? Like Hermione, he's tried to ignore it for a long time and up until now, he succeeded. So why was this different? Was it because they were spending more time together? Was it because they had gotten older and more mature? Or is it just all in his head? He didn't know and he couldn't understand it. It was frustrating beyond all means.

'Harry?'

An all-too familiar voice had appeared in the doorway. Hermione was leaning against the door frame, arms folded across her chest, looking down at him, worry glinting in her eyes. He felt worried too, but immediately felt some reassurance now that he knew she was there. Her breathing seemed to relax too, sensing that he was feeling much better too.

'Hermione.'

'Are you alright?'

Hermione walked over to him and knelt down next to his bed. Their hands grazed and they both felt the electricity shoot through their bodies, along with brief feelings of nervousness and excitement.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking.' Harry turned to face her, and looked into her eyes. He immediately felt better.

'Do you want to talk about it?' Hermione was also looking into his eyes, and they glistened in the light.

Harry didn't actually realise how pretty she was. As he looked into her eyes, he felt an immediate reassurance, like her presence kept him on the ground. He could almost feel the invisible force pulling him closer towards her, but he knew he couldn't. It wouldn't be good for either of them.

Hermione seemed to be feeling the same. She could also feel the sense of security that he gives her, just like Harry had. These feelings were probably the strongest they've ever been, which isn't surprising as they were literally inches away from each other. She glanced down at his lips for a brief second and that just made it almost unbearable. It took every inch of her to hold back, and she only just managed to pull it off. Despite her feelings for Ron, she couldn't mistake this overwhelming urge to kiss Harry.

Harry looked up at the ceiling, in an attempt to break the tension. 'Hermione, I wanted to ask you something.'

'Yeah?' Her voice was soft, sturdy.

'Do you…' He trailed off. _How am I supposed to say this?_ 'Do you ever get these strange feelings?'

'I'm not sure what you mean, Harry…' she says, a little confused.

'Like… do you ever get these feelings of longing? Like, you feel like you're drawn to a certain person... am I making sense?'

'Yeah, I think so… It's almost like the only person keeping you on the ground is them,' she says. It was probably the best description that she could offer, because it was true. Whenever Harry was around, she always felt this stirring grow inside of her, something that drives her towards him. It was like a magnet, but she knew that they wouldn't work. She was supposed to be with Ron and Harry with Ginny. Nothing could change that.

Before this could go any further Ginny came through the door only to find Hermione kneeling next to Harry on the side of the bed. Surprise and suspicion crossed her mind. 'What's going on?'

Harry sprang up, but he flinched as he felt Hermione's panic rush through him. 'Ginny! This is not what it looks like!'

Hermione believed it was probably time to go. 'I'm sorry Ginny, I just came to see if Harry was OK. I was thinking of going back to Ron anyway.'

Ginny looked much more relieved. 'OK, he's waiting for you downstairs.'

Hermione stood up and glanced back at Harry. Their hands grazed again, and the electricity shot through her body like lightning. She really didn't want to leave, in fact she wanted to crawl into bed with him, but thought better of it, and left the room without another word, her mind still on Harry.

Ginny walked over to Harry and laid down next to him, pulling him into a hug. 'Are you OK?'

Harry hugged her back. 'Yeah, I was just thinking.'

'Want to talk about it?'

'Maybe another time.' And he got up and headed downstairs, his mind still on Hermione.


End file.
